SUFFERN, NY (AP) -- The weight-loss company NutriSystem Inc. says it has dropped Lawrence Taylor as a spokesman because of his rape arrest.
Company spokeswoman Susan McGowan said Friday that the company was shocked at the allegation that Taylor had sex with a 16-year-old runaway and decided to sever the relationship.
Taylor was charged Thursday with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute after being arrested in a suburban hotel room. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, denied the charges.
McGowan, speaking from company headquarters in Horsham, Pa., said Taylor had been a spokesman for NutriSystem advertising and public relations since April 2009 and had lost 35 pounds to 250. She said he had been used heavily on national TV.
The man who authorities say set up football star Lawrence Taylor with a 16-year-old runaway has been charged with sex trafficking of a child.
Rasheed Davis was charged in a criminal complaint filed Friday in Manhattan federal court.
The complaint referred to the 51-year-old Taylor as "Client-1." It said he told police officers in Ramapo, N.Y., that he engaged in sex acts with a woman in a hotel room Wednesday before paying her $300 in cash. It said "Client-1" told them he took a car service from Newark, N.J., to the hotel.
Taylor was charged Thursday with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, has denied the charges, saying Taylor did not have sex with the girl and did not rape her.
A police official says officers knew they were going after football star Lawrence Taylor when they raided a suburban hotel room after a 16-year-old runaway said she was taken there for sex.
Christopher St. Lawrence, the town supervisor and police commissioner in Ramapo, N.Y., said on the CBS "Early Show" Friday that authorities learned from the victim that the man was the 51-year-old NFL Hall of Famer.
Taylor was charged Thursday with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, denied the charges again Friday on NBC's "Today" show.
St. Lawrence also said that when police surprised Taylor, he asked to use the bathroom but was denied. St. Lawrence said some evidence was then recovered from the bathroom.
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